“HOW COULD YOU JUST GO WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME?” Kristin screamed at Tommy from across the room.

“Oh I’m sorry! I wasn’t aware that I had to check out business trips with the little woman before I could go on them!” Tommy retorted, taking a step closer to her. He had known this woman for nearly 6 years and had been married to her for 3 of those years; she could be so annoying sometimes.

“If you EVER call me ‘little woman’ again,” Kristin hissed at him, barely able to stop herself from throwing something very heavy at Tommy. “I swear you will pay for it!”

“Fine,” Tommy replied, mocking her tone.

“I mean seriously, Tommy. WHAT was going through your head?” Kristin hollered at him, taking a few steps closer to him.

“Kristin, I have gone on hundreds of business trips in my life and you’ve never had a problem with it before! What do you WANT from me?” Tommy replied, truly not understanding why she was so upset with him about something he did all the time.

“Tommy, I know you need to go away for work, I came into this marriage knowing that you’d probably be gone a lot, but at least in the past you’ve TOLD me! I wake up and your suitcase is gone. I call Santa to ask her if she’s seen you and she tells me that you’re in London for a week! How am I supposed to respond to that?” She yells at him as tears spill from her eyes and run down her cheeks.

Had he really done that? Had he really forgotten to tell his own wife that he was going to be gone for a week? If he really had forgotten, he hadn’t meant anything by it. He should apologize to her. NO. He couldn’t do that; couldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that she was right.

“So you’re not even going to answer me now?” Kristin sobbed as she sat down on the couch.

“Kristin, I’m not going to have you run my life. My job requires that I go on a lot of trips and if I forgot to mention one of them to you, who cares?” Tommy replied as he sat down in an armchair.

“DON’T YOU SEE THE PROBLEM HERE?” Kristin screamed through her tears as she jumped up off the couch and stood looking down at Tommy’s uncaring face. “I’M YOUR WIFE! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO TELL ME IF YOU’RE FLYING ACROSS AN OCEAN!”

“Look Kristin,” Tommy said as he stood up and put his hands on his wife’s shoulders.

“Don’t touch me,” Kristin seethed as she wrenched her body away from Tommy’s touch.

“I can’t even touch my own wife?” Tommy said sarcastically; in a pathetic attempt to bring some humor into the situation. “I got a rotten deal!”

“How can you joke at a time like this?” Kristin cried as she sat down on the couch again and buried her head in her hands.

Tommy didn’t know what to do. He hated seeing his wife like this but he couldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had been right; she’d be impossible after that! He loved Kristin with all of his heart, he really did, but sometimes she could be so controlling that he thought he’d explode if he didn’t get a couple of days away from her.

“I tried to tell you I was sorry, you didn’t want to hear it,” he replied. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You never once said you were sorry like you truly meant it, Tommy!” Kristin said as her tears turned cold and her green eyes flashed with anger. “You think you can treat me however you want to and it won’t matter. I’m not one of your clients at work; I’m your wife! You can’t brush me off if you don’t feel like dealing with me, and you can’t put a spin on things to make yourself look better. We both know you did something wrong, whether you want to admit it or not.”

She was right; he knew she was right. Why couldn’t he just admit it? He hated this part of himself, hated that he had such a hard time admitting when he was wrong, even though he saw how much he was hurting the woman that he loved.

“I’m not wrong,” he replied. “You are the one who needs to take a look at yourself and see if maybe you’re taking this just a little too far.”

“I … need to look inside myself … and see if I … am taking this a little TOO FAR?” Kristin said, attempting to keep her voice at a realistic level but failing to do so in the end. “I AM NOT THE ONE WHO TOOK OFF FOR A WEEK AND DIDN’T TELL YOU WHERE I WAS GOING!”

“Kristin, everybody at the office knew where I was going, all you had to do was call and ask!” Tommy said, his own voice rising a little in response to his wife’s screaming.

Tommy was frightened as Kristin stood up from the couch and screamed at him, she looked positively crazed!

“Calm down!” Tommy hollered over her screaming.

“I will NOT calm down! You are an insensitive PIG and I wish you would just LEAVE!” she screamed at him; she was so angry she could hardly speak.

“Fine, if that’s what you want, maybe I should!” Tommy hollered as he stormed past her, down the hall, and into the bedroom.

“Tommy!” Kristin cried out, following him into the bedroom. “I didn’t mean it! I was angry; I don’t want you to go!! PLEASE stay!”

“No, no. You were quite clear in what you said,” Tommy replied as he took his small suitcase out of the closet and begun to fill it with clothing. “I am a pig and you wish I would leave. Well cross your arms and blink because your wish has been granted!”

“Please, Tommy!” Kristin cried as she held on to his arm in a desperate attempt to stop him from packing his things. “I didn’t mean it! Really, I didn’t!”

“I heard you quite clearly Kristin,” Tommy said as he calmly shook her off his arm and continued packing. “Clearly, you’ve been thinking about it for a while and have waited until now to actually say it. It will be better for both of us this way.”

“NO! I can’t live without you!” Kristin screamed through her tears. “Please!”

“You can, of course, keep the apartment,” Tommy explained, closing his now-full suitcase. “I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”

“Tommy!” Kristin sobbed as she followed him out of the bedroom and into the front room. “Please stay! PLEASE!”

“I don’t think so,” Tommy replied. “You haven’t provided me with a good enough reason yet.”

“I’m pregnant,” Kristin said, immediately becoming very serious and staring Tommy straight in the eye.

Tommy turned to stare at his wife. She was pregnant? No, she couldn’t be! What was he thinking? This was just a desperate last attempt to get him to stay, well it wouldn’t work; his mind was made up.

“Good try,” Tommy laughed as he opened the door. “I almost believed you.”

“Tommy,” Kristin said; pleading with him. “I’m serious.”

“Have an abortion then, that’ll solve your problem,” Tommy told her, realizing immediately that had taken that further than he had intended.

“GO TO HELL!” Kristin hollered as she rushed forward, pushed him out the door, and slammed it in his face.